Reaction to Las Vegas Aces winning the #1 overall pick in 2019

The Lottery took place during halftime of Game 2 of the Mystics-Dream series in the Connecticut ESPN studios. It was to select the #1 overall pick for the 2019 WNBA Draft.

The four worst teams this season were the Indiana Fever, the New York Liberty, Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces. With yet another deep draft class for 2019, these four teams had a nice shot to select some elite talent.

With the way the WNBA Draft lottery works with combining two-year records, one would assume the Indiana Fever would have the highest chances of winning the #1 overall pick, along with the Chicago Sky.

The New York Liberty had a terrible season, but the odds were not stacked in their favor. The Las Vegas Aces ONLY ended up in the lottery because they had to forfeit a game and lost another game against Dallas just to get into the playoffs.

Keeping all of the above information in mind, many thought the lottery would have a similar result, but it didn't. The Indiana Fever, who had the highest odds of having a top 2 pick, finished third. The Chicago Sky got the fourth overall pick. That in itself was surprising, simply because the Fever needed a top talent. They struggled offensively in 2018, they needed a star to help rebuild the franchise, and when they were announced that they had won third overall, Fever GM/head coach Pokey Chatman was not too thrilled about it.

So, who ended up winning the #1 overall pick? Believe it or not, the team that least needed another talent upgrade. It was the Las Vegas Aces, who finished in 9th place, and just missed the playoffs. They already have a talented team and won the lottery the previous two years (San Antonio in 2017).

Las Vegas can now add an elite center or forward to pair with A'ja Wilson in the frontcourt. They can draft either Baylor's Kalani Brown or Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan, or they could completely shake it up and take a guard like Asia Durr or Arike Ogunbowale. Either way, the Aces can now build a potential championship team and compete with the top teams in the league for the 2019 WNBA season.

The New York Liberty surprisingly won the second overall pick despite not having great odds, to begin with. This is great for their franchise as they can use the player to help along with the purchase of the team as a prime advertisement. This player will hopefully help the New York Liberty rebuild and become the team they used to be.

It was a surprising night for many WNBA teams, media, and fans. This was an interesting WNBA Draft Lottery. Had the Aces made the playoffs, they would not have won the #1 overall pick. This is a controversial WNBA Draft Lottery in a while because it rewards the Aces decision to forfeit and yet another talented player goes to the Western conference where a majority of them have gone to. The Indiana Fever have the most to gripe about -- they had to endure a painful losing season, only to end up with the 3rd overall pick, and not even a top 2 pick. There are plenty of talented players in this draft, but the Fever will have to play the waiting game to see if the player they wanted will be there. In a busy night in the WNBA, this draft lottery just made the 2019 WNBA season one to watch.

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